JAM PACKED WINTER CARNIVAL NEXT WEEKEND!

After celebrating their 10th anniversary season in 2018, Tweed & Company Theatre is thrilled to be back in action in Hastings County in 2019, with a solid slate of events running from February to December. This season will feature 8 professional Canadian Theatrical productions, with some musical workshops and new play readings thrown in between. As this small but mighty company steadily grows, they continue to add to their exciting programming, but also frequently return some of their past favourites. This season, that includes their return to the ever popular Tweed Winter Carnival, where they will be hosting two exciting new programs, SWORDPLAY! A Play of Swords, and THE SUPERHERO EXTRAVAGANZA, a huge superhero party for the little ones.

“The company almost doubled in size and attendance last season, and we are thrilled to continue bringing new and exciting productions to the region for an ever growing audience,” says Artistic Director Tim Porter, “this season is one of the most anticipated yet, with lots of exciting new stuff, and some of my favourite performances coming to Tweed for the first time.“ Tweed & Company has built a reputation of quality original theatrical productions, and that reputation precedes them, bringing in over 2000 tourism patrons to the small town of Tweed last season, more than the population of the town itself. They are hoping for an even stronger attendance this year, as they continue to grow their offerings and work on their next major musical…whatever that may be. “We have established a process of taking some time to write and workshop new musicals, and then doing smaller presentations to see what works, followed by major future productions for the shows that we believe in.” Says Artistic Producer Tricia Black, currently appearing in Second City Toronto’s She The People. “This year we are building on that workshop process by adding our new in development program, and have started working on a couple new productions that we are very excited about, to premiere next year or the year after. 2019 is going to be an incredible year, and we are so excited to show you everything we have been working on.”

First up in the 2019 season is SWORDPLAY! This show is an established production created by Toronto sketch Comedy Troupe Sex-T-Rex, and the show is preceded by a list of reviews and accolades as long as the highway from Toronto to Tweed. Winner of the Just for Laughs Best Comedy Award, and the Atlantic Fringe Best Comedy Award, the show is just over an hour of pure comedy, blasting us all back to the Princess Bride, pixelated video games and Monty Python-esque comedy, with a bit of Game of Thrones and current reference thrown in. “I saw this show in 2015 at the Toronto Fringe, where we were also playing our production of STALKYARD HURTS, and I absolutely fell in love with it,” says Porter, “I remember being totally star struck when I saw the cast in the beer tent later, the show had that much of an affect on me, and I knew I wanted to bring it to Tweed, and give other people the opportunity to share in this hilarious and exciting theatrical production.” SWORDPLAY! plays for two performances only on Saturday, February 16th, at 3 PM and 7 PM at the Tweed Elementary School, 52 McClellan St in Tweed.

Also playing during the upcoming carnival is a new take on last year’s over sold event The Princess Ball, this year taking the form of THE SUPERHERO EXTRAVAGANZA! Tweed & Co invite you and your little ones to join Spiderman, Super Girl and Wonder Woman for two hours of play, entertainment, and super duper superhero fun! Similar to last year this event will include a bouncy castle, face painting with the superheroes, cookie decorating, and colouring station, and will be capped off with a 20 minute superhero musical play! New this year will be a photo station, piñata party, and additional games and activities for the kids. This event will also take place at the Tweed Elementary School, and due to the additional space available there, it is only required that you pay for the children attending, adults do not need a ticket. THE SUPERHERO EXTRAVAGANZA will take place from 2 PM to 4 PM on Sunday, February 17th. It is recommended that you book early, as last years event entirely sold out in advance.

With an exciting season of over 8 productions, we can’t wait to see what else is in store for Tweed & Co in 2019. Events this year will take place at venues across the municipality of Tweed, including the company’s return to the Marble Arts Centre, some events back at the Tweed Pavilion, and new this year, a dinner theatre production at Stoco Lake Lodge. There’s a little something for everyone is this 2019 season, and with over half of last years events entirely selling out, it’s probably a good idea to get your tickets for all of these shows early to avoid disappointment.

Quotes from past productions of SWORDPLAY are too extensive to list, but we’ll leave you with one of our favourites from My Entertainment World in Toronto: ““It doesn’t get any better than this, folks! Part videogame homage, part Princess Bride…inspired, imaginative, and first-rate theatrical magic!” Book your tickets today, and we’ll see you there!